Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Author's Note: Once again, I do not speak French. I am using a dictionary/translator on my computer, so I'm aware it won't be perfect. If you do speak French, I would like to apologize now for any slaughtering of the language I may have inadvertently caused. Otherwise, what do you care, right?
French translations: ((example))
Responses to my cherished reviewers: tkmoore, (lets you borrow my F&G dolls just because I worship the ground that you walk on! kisses!) cloaked, love, you never fail me with your reviews! Jan, what can I say? you're simply fabulous! (bows and gives you big kisses) seri-chan, thanks so much, as usual! angelfire33, (kisses) excellent review as always! Catalina Royce, omg! awesome review! you kick ass! sillysun, I just lurve you! THANKS!Shelby, she was invited 'cause Ginny's still her friend and she added interesting tension. lol xxbabysparklesxx, I'm glad you thought it was funny! and thanks! jenn, neither would i! Chaney, doesn't alcohol just kick ass? lol Fallen, thanks! love you! AnitaBlake/BuffyFan, as usual, I adore you! ForeverLoyal, well, it seems we have a bit in common. :) aoi-yuki-yume, he'll say it eventually, lol! Crimson, hey, there's no dissing of your honey in here! lol Frances, thanks! Ludra, I'm glad you liked it! candace1989, THANK YOU! juju, probably not. lol Lithui, omg, that was a beautiful review! thank you so much! beautiful-exterior, thanks, as usual! Serena, please, no murder! no murder! I posted! (runs screaming) lol babykelyse, it was so offered freely! (snickers) Aubryawna, yes! another ruined! love you! Evilkitty51, hope this was soon enough! Onsetlife, thank you! madcow, it just comes to me, lol. Voldemort8, hope this cleared things up a bit! a.sam, THANK YOU! childofoceans, you rock mine too! :) RebbeccaTurner01, thank you so much! Psi, well, we can always hope she doesn't! lol moonspirit11, thank you! you rock!
Important Author's Note: Thanks to a lovely reviewer, pitchic05, it has come to my attention that when using my beloved little French endearments, 'mon' instead of 'ma' is supposed to be used before a word starting with a vowel. Sooooo…I'll be doing it that way from now on, and I'll eventually go back through the other chapters and fix those. Thanks, pitchic05!
Semi-Important Author's Note: One, I don't know about the live birth thing (don't freak, you'll see in a minute), and two, Peter Pettigrew's House was never directly mentioned canon-wise as far as I know, and if it was, I totally missed it. I know most assume he was a Gryff, but let's pretend otherwise, alright?
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Blaise and Draco stood silently on the cliff outside of their bedroom, watching the moonlight play over the waves, and every once in a while glimpsing one of the mer-horses that lived inside the wards. The night was anything but silent, the forest alive and the wind howling. Ebony and silver whipped around them, but neither moved to pull their hair back. The stars were too enchanting, and too much rested within their minds, to have them worry over something so inconsequential. Their heart lay just inside, sleeping for a few hours, wrapped in thick furs and silk. But they could not find even a moment's repose in sleep, for she was the main thing they worried about.
"Too close." Draco whispered for what felt like the thousandth time, and Blaise didn't have to ask what he meant.
"Yes."
"It cannot happen again."
"I know. A repeat is unacceptable." Blaise replied, their fingers twining together.
"We cannot survive without her, you know this?"
"Oui. I feel it, that subtle shift in my core. It's been that way since we were Marked. And at this point, I would not even wish to."
"Nor would I." Draco agreed, sighing. "If I lost either of you…"
"You won't." Blaise said with conviction, turning and facing his lover. "We won't let that happen."
"Then you know what must be done?"
"I do. We cannot have him constantly breathing over our shoulders, hunting for weaknesses. He will find one eventually. Even we are not infallible."
"Obviously." Draco hissed, his mercury eyes flashing. "But neither are we weak. A Lord of the Dark he may be, but there is still only one of him."
"You fancy us ready to face him?" Blaise asked, his eyes letting his lover see that he felt much the same.
"Perhaps. Dark Lords are not ones to be trifled with, but for some reason, I'm beginning to think that he hasn't gained all of his strength back like he's telling everyone he has."
"True." Blaise spoke slowly, turning his thoughts over. "That has occurred to me as well. But then again, we aren't what we will be in another year or two, either."
"It still must be done." Draco stated.
"And soon, at that. We must keep her safe no matter the cost."
"Then we agree?"
"Don't we always?" Blaise questioned flippantly, and glared when Draco pinched him. "Oui, we agree."
"Good. Then we shall be knocking upon the Dark Lord's door before Yule break ends."
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Virginia sat on a low stone bench in one of the west gardens, her head on George's shoulder and her legs curled up in Fred's lap. George was absently coiling the braids that her boyfriends had plaited into her hair earlier that morning around one finger, while Fred was leaned back with his eyes closed, his head resting on the giant tree behind them. To their left, Pansy, Melody and Daphne were chatting quietly, and to their right, Gregory, Vincent and Anton were silent and half-dozing in one of the small patches of late morning sunlight that had managed to make it through the trees' thick canopy. Draco and Blaise were nowhere to be seen, but given the reason that they were there, it was expected.
'There' was actually at the foot of the mountain that was on the property, and said mountain had turned out to be their infamous dragon reserve. Charlie had nearly died from sheer glee. Twenty dragons nested on the mountain, two of each of the remaining species, and they had come out because the Peruvian Vipertooth female, the only dragon that didn't lay eggs, had gone into labor. So while Draco, Blaise and Charlie had gone in to help the house elves, the rest of them had taken up vigil at the foot of the great mountain. All were excited, as they'd been promised a chance to see the baby from a safe distance after it was born.
The garden they were in was like a spot of spring, or would have been had they not been able to see the snow falling all around the shield surrounding them. Her parents were once again sitting with Narcissa, Severus and Silana, this time around a marble table that was inside a gazebo not too far from where she was. Ron and Harry were sitting a little bit away from them, Ron glaring steadily at Hermione, who was sitting by herself reading a book, and Harry was looking at the girl too, but in a confused way rather than a murderous one. Bill was laid out on the soft grass, his head pillowed in his hands, drifting in and out of sleep lazily.
"I still can't believe she fucked him." Fred mumbled quietly, looking towards Hermione. George smiled.
"Yeah, well, you didn't have to see them all post-coital." He whispered back, and Fred snickered.
"Thank the gods. I'm not sure I ever would have recovered."
"Shut up." Virginia said, her tone just as subdued, but she couldn't stop a small grin. It was nice to be with the twins again. "There's nothing wrong with Anton."
"We didn't say there was." George replied, his chin-length red hair sliding from behind his ears as he shook his head and falling around his lightly freckled face. "Rather like him, actually. He's an okay bloke. It's Hermione that warped my poor brain."
"What?" She asked, surprised. "Why?"
"Well, it's…Hermione." Fred attempted to clarify. "I'd never even thought she'd have sex, let alone throw all of her scruples out of the window for a quick tumble with a Slytherin." He said something else, but Virginia wasn't listening.
He didn't realize how much what he'd just said meant to her. Well, more like how he'd said what he said. There hadn't been a drop of reproach or disdain in his voice when he'd said 'Slytherin'. In fact, there hadn't been in either his or his twin's ever since that night at the bonfire. And considering that most usually said that word as if it were a curse, she appreciated it more than she could say. They'd come up that first night, sat down, and had simply asked, 'Are you happy?' She'd said yes and they'd nodded, threatened her boyfriends with nasty retribution should they ever hurt her, and then traded lewd jokes and stories with them the rest of the night.
"Ginny? Umm, Ginny, hello!" Startled, she snapped out of her thoughts to find her brothers looking at her with amusement. "Back with us, now?" Fred asked, and she nodded sheepishly.
"Yeah, sorry, I just…"
"Just what, little sister?" George asked playfully after she trailed off, tickling her with her own braid.
"I just…What I mean is…Thank you."
"For what?" Fred asked, and they both looked genuinely confused. "I mean, don't get me wrong, if you wanna give us credit for something…"
"…It's fine as long as it was devious and preferably funny." George finished for him, and she slapped them both lightly on the arm, rolling her eyes.
"I'm serious." She said, and they sobered immediately. She'd forgotten how it felt to have the twins turn their full attention on her. Everyone else had always found it odd and sort of intimidating, but she'd just found it comforting. The same apparently still held true.
"What is it, rose?" They asked in unison, and she glared.
"Don't call me that!" She huffed, bristling at the use of their childhood nickname for her.
They'd started calling her that when they were all still little and the twins had followed Virginia deep into the woods around the Burrow one day. They'd seen her testing out a story their mum had told them, and had followed her again the next day, to find the legend true. The blood she had spilt on the earth had been replaced with wild roses, and they had called her 'rose' ever since. Although, they hadn't in a good two or three years, which she'd been quite happy about. And it wasn't the word itself that irked her; it was the way that the bastards said it. It was the underlying tone to their voices, indiscernible to most, that taunted her.
The tone that said 'No matter who holds your heart and secrets now, we hold those of your youth'. And they did. Everyone usually thought that she had been the closest with Ron, due to their ages. But that hadn't been true at all. As children, Virginia had always run to the twins with nightmares or when she got in trouble, and she still had at Hogwarts until they'd left. To tell the truth, they were the only members of her family that she actually wanted to approve of her choices. And after the initial shock, they had, just as they had in the past. The sense of family that she'd felt leave her when Ron had turned from her came back a bit, and she didn't know whether to fight it or not.
Her head told her not to trust them completely, told her not to trust anyone but her boyfriends and her god completely, but their open, understanding eyes made it hard. Because her heart told her that out of everyone else, even her parents, these two would never betray her, never abandon her. Her head, of course, argued, telling her not to be foolish, that everyone could change. But if that held true for them, then why did her heart not rebel concerning anyone else? It fought her judgment and logic brutally, telling her that this once, she had to have faith. But could she? Percy's eyes still haunted her, Ron's rejection still stung. And the rest of her family…
They were trying, she supposed. Bill made some effort to try and talk to her boyfriends, usually about different sorts of curses. Charlie, well, he had the passion for dragons in common with them. But both still had an untrusting, guarded expression in their eyes, and neither approved. Her father definitely didn't approve, his tense posture whenever her lovers were around was testament enough to that, but he had been civil. Overly civil, actually. It was like he thought that they couldn't see straight through his fake smile and strained laughter. And her mum…Her mum liked Narcissa and Silana well enough, but as for Blaise and Draco…
She knew her mother didn't like them, didn't trust them, but she treated them warmly all the same. Except…sometimes Virginia would see her mum's eyes darken when she didn't think anyone else was watching. But the question regarding the twins remained the same. Could she put faith in someone besides her lovers again? In someone besides Pansy and Anton? Looking up, seeing the true affection and brotherly adoration in their eyes, she let her heart tell her mind to fuck itself, and realized that she'd never really lost her faith in them. It had just been buried beneath the deceit that had seemed to swamp her from every direction.
"Rose, you're spacing out again." George chided gently, and she smiled.
"Sorry."
"So, what were you thanking us for again?" Fred asked, thumping the tip of her nose.
"For…I guess just for being there for me the last few days. For treating Draco and Blaise like people instead of some sort of contagious monsters. For being decent and friendly towards the other Slytherins. Just for…for being you, I suppose." She said, and they grinned.
"Hey, it's not a big deal, rose." Fred told her simply. "You're our little sister…"
"…But you're not a little girl anymore." George finished, his sky blue eyes sparkling. "We'll still love you, Gin, no matter what you do." Lowering her eyes to the floor, she told herself that she was not going to cry. The twins rarely said anything meaningful or sentimental, but when they did, they did a damn fine job of it. Familiar freckled fingers lifted her chin, forcing her to meet their gaze, and their eyes widened slightly at the battered, wounded look in her own.
"Rose…"
"…Gods, did Percy hurt you that badly?"
She said nothing.
"No." Fred answered for her, looking at her as intently as their brother was. "It's something else, too."
"What's happened, rose?" George asked, and she tried to look away, but they wouldn't let her. They never had. Willing herself not to glance at Ron, she tried to lie, even though she knew it wouldn't fool them.
"Nothing." She said weakly, feeling like a little girl again. The effect they could have on her was absurd.
"Come on, rose, we're not stupid…"
"…Despite what people think." Fred finished.
"Someone else in the family has hurt you." George said, cocking his head to the side, a calculating look entering those eyes. A calculating, slightly frightening look.
"Who was it?" Fred demanded softly. "Bill or Charlie?"
"No."
"Mum and dad?" George asked.
"No."
"Ron." They both hissed, his name more of a statement then a question.
She said nothing.
"I'm going to kill him." George mumbled, his eyes narrowing to slits. Fred nodded, and when they turned to look at their youngest brother, their eyes were full of wrath and retribution.
"What'd he say to you, rose?" Fred questioned, but she shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, alright? It doesn't matter."
"Oh, but Ginny, it does." George said acidly. "It matters quite a lot." He started to stand and she pulled him back down.
"What are you doing?"
"What's it look like?" He asked. "I'm gonna go knock some sense into brother dear."
"Just leave it. Please." She said, and they both froze.
"Fine." Fred said, smiling nastily when Ron looked up and started at the looks they were giving him. Their brother paled, before looking at Virginia and scowling. He made some obviously rude comment to Harry under his breath, and the twins snapped.
"Never mind." George said as he and Fred squirmed out of her grasp. Not wanting to hurt them, and therefore not using her strength, she cursed as they stood. "Sorry, rose, but some things just have to be done."
"Oi, Ron!" Fred called, and Ron's head snapped back around, as did most everyone else's. "What's your fucking problem with our sister?" The garden grew quiet at that, and Ron stood, his eyes flashing angrily.
"Why? What's she been blabbing about me?" Ron spat, and the twins moved forward threateningly. Bill had risen to his elbows, watching his brothers cautiously, obviously preparing to break up a fight.
"She hasn't said anything." George said in a low voice, trying to leash in his anger. "But you're about to."
"Am I?"
"Yes." Fred supplied, taking another step. "You're going to tell us what you did to make our baby sister's eyes hold such sorrow." Realizing how rarely serious the twins were being, Bill got to his feet, his nervousness increasing threefold.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ron said, but he was playing with the ragged end of one sleeve of his robe, and they knew he was lying.
"Don't fuck around." George warned. "What did you say?"
"I don't know what you're-" Ron started to repeat, but Hermione cut him off.
"I do."
Everyone stopped and looked at her. But she was looking only at Ron, her eyes shining with revenge. He had treated her like utter shit the last two days, and it seemed like she was ready to bite back. The only people that even so much as acknowledged her presence anymore without insulting her were Virginia, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and their parents. But the middle four rarely spoke to her anyway, so it wasn't very much different. And Virginia didn't think that her parents knew what had happened. So it was pretty much up to Virginia to make sure that the girl had everything she needed and that she got some sort of companionship besides Mephite.
And a huge dog that would just as soon rip your head off as look at you couldn't have been that wonderful of a companion. Harry seemed like he wanted to talk to Hermione, but had no idea what to say. Virginia knew he'd crack eventually, though. As for the Slytherins, Pansy, Melody and Daphne hated the girl more than ever, Crabbe and Goyle thought that she was flaky, always acting so high-and-mighty and then turning around and fucking Anton at the drop of a hat, and Anton himself couldn't have cared less. It was, after all, just a fuck. The only part he didn't like was that it pissed off Pansy. And Draco and Blaise…Well, after the initial disgust that they'd felt at the very thought, they'd found it all rather amusing.
"You know what he said to her?" Fred asked, and Hermione stood, nodding.
"Yes, yes, I do." She replied, looking quite smug about it. "Both times."
"WHAT!?" The twins yelled in unison, and Ron slunk backwards a bit. "What do you mean 'both times'?"
"You're going to listen to that whore?" Ron interrupted, and their mum glared him into silence.
"Excuse me, Ronald?" Their mum said slowly, her cheeks turning red. "What did you just say?"
"Later, mum." Fred said, his attention back on Hermione. "What was it?"
"Let's see." Hermione said, extending her fingers as she counted, ticking off his offences. "He basically said that he's never been more disappointed in anyone, that she's a complete disgrace to your family, and that he no longer considers her a sister of his or a Weasley at all."
Silence. And then a velvety voice slid out of the trees, along with its owner.
"You forgot the part about her being nothing more than mine and Draco's concubine." Blaise offered, a cruel smile on his permanently bruised-looking lips. "That was definitely my favorite part."
Silence. Then booming exclamations of, "YOU SAID WHAT!?" Ron slunk back even farther, as he now had the angry eyes of not only the twins on him, but those of his parents, his oldest brother, and Blaise as well. Their mum exploded first.
"I NEVER – RONALD WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH DISGUSTING THINGS TO YOUR SISTER!? HOW DARE YOU?? AS IF THE POOR THING HASN'T BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY, YOU GO AND DO THIS? WHEN SHE NEEDS THE SUPPORT OF HER FAMILY MORE THAN EVER, YOU INSULT HER!? HER LIFE AND HER DECISIONS ARE NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS! IF I EVER, EVER HEAR OF YOU DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN, IT WON'T BE HER WHO ISN'T A WEASLEY ANYMORE!" Looking shocked at what she'd just said, their mum fell back into her chair, while Ron looked abashed and horrified.
"Mum, I-" He started, but the heavy glowers of the other Weasley males, Charlie included since he'd appeared out of the forest after Blaise, had his voice dying out. Blaise came to Virginia's side, sitting beside her and wrapping a strong arm around her waist. She leaned into him, grateful for his presence. This is why she hadn't said anything to the rest of her family about Ron's behavior. She knew from experience that it would only make him more stubborn and angry then before. And she was right. He seemed to gather himself up after a minute, staring at them defiantly.
"Ooooh, brave look for a dead fool." Fred said through clenched teeth.
"So, what, you're going to beat me up just 'cause I disagree with you?" Ron snapped, and then turned to Virginia. "You know what, Ginny? You're pretty fucked up, turning the twins against me. And have you told them why I said those things? Huh? Have you!?" He nearly screamed when she didn't answer. Looking at him, she searched for the brother she'd once known. The brother that he'd been before Harry Potter, before Hogwarts, before his growing desire to be in the limelight. Funnily enough, she didn't feel quite as disappointed as she'd thought she would when all she saw was him as he was right then. Angry, jealous, mean, and immature.
"Fuck this." She murmured, and Blaise's arm tightened around her. They stood as one, and she looked up at her family. "We're leaving. I have no intention of having my Yule ruined because Ron can't grow the fuck up." She then turned to Ron himself. "And you…You don't have to worry about calling me sister any longer. I'm arranging to have all familial ties with you cut. All that will be required of you is your signature." Facing the rest of her now-stunned family again, she inclined her head briefly. "And what he's so dying for you to know is that he turned from me because he discovered that the Sorting Hat's first choice for me was Slytherin. If any of you feel the same, I won't hold it against you. I leave you time to think."
Then they were gone, melting into the shadows under the trees before the others even saw them leave. She shot a single glance backwards, unable to help herself, and glimpsed her family's looks of complete surprise. Except for the twins. They actually looked as if they'd expected it. And they didn't seem displeased in the least, just considering. Tearing her eyes away, she let Blaise lead her through the thick trunks and over the deep snow, her heart feeling lighter. There had been no recrimination or disdain in the twins' eyes. Sensing her smile, Blaise turned to look at her, never abating his speed as they dashed between trees.
"So, did you mean it?" He asked, a wicked smile on his face. "Please say you meant it."
"About severing my ties with him? Yes." She said, and his grin grew as he finally began to slow to a walk. They broke through the endless trees and came out on an icy, stone path that wound out of sight ahead and behind them. As soon as their feet hit the tiles, Draco dropped from a low hanging branch, landing nimbly a couple of yards from them.
"Still want to see the dragon?" He asked curiously. "Or do you just want to leave and see it later? Charlie's going to take the others."
"Honestly? Later." She said, just needing…away. She didn't even want to be in a fifty-mile radius while her family made their decisions about what she'd just told them. They nodded, and Draco took her other hand.
"Let's go then." He said, and they set out for the Manor.
It didn't take them very long to get there at a dead run, and they were all laughing by the time they slid into the front foyer. They went to the nearest plaque, slicing their palms and disappearing to their bedroom one by one. They each grabbed a heavy, deep-hooded, velvet winter cloak, Virginia's emerald green, Blaise's a dark, dusky silver, and Draco's as black as night. They took their time putting them on each other and smoothing braids, reality seeming to slow and fade as it always did when they were alone. Eventually they made it to the foyer again, and were more than a bit surprised to find Fred and George waiting for them.
"There you are!" Fred said when they appeared next to the plaque. "We were starting to wonder why that elf said to wait here."
"Honestly, running off and making us chase you!" George huffed, unable to hide his grin. "Thought we'd never find our way back through those woods."
"Some interesting plants and animals, though." Fred added. "I just know I saw some of those tropical berries that make exploding paste. Growing in the snow, at that."
"And I swear there was a wood nymph that waved at me…" George commented thoughtfully. "But where are you off to?"
"Paris." Draco said, before his lips twisted. "Muggle Paris."
"How'd she talk you two into that?" The twins asked simultaneously, identical looks of disbelief on their faces. Virginia grinned. Draco's statement had shaken them up more then her admission had.
"You don't want to know." Blaise groaned. "She's bloody evil."
"Just now caught onto that, have you?" George asked sympathetically. "Don't worry, she fooled us at first, too. Sneaky, that one."
"Oh, bugger off, George." Virginia said, crossing her arms. "So do you two want to come? I know you've always wanted to go to Paris. I was going to ask earlier, but then…that happened, and I thought…"
"Silly rose." Fred scolded mockingly. "Want to know a secret of ours to make it even?" She looked at him warily. She probably really didn't want to, knowing them as she did, but…
"Alright." She said, scrunching up her nose as she prepared to be told some wrong, disturbing thing that they had done at some point or another. She'd heard enough before to be anxious. They leaned in close, one twin whispering into each ear.
"Its first choice for us was Slytherin, as well."
Their words took a moment to penetrate, and when they did, her jaw dropped. She heard her lovers each suck in a breath, before Blaise snickered. That set Draco off, and soon they had both slid down the wall behind them, laughing quietly, yet quite hysterically. Feeling laughter bubbling up in her own throat, she leaned back and looked at her brothers. Their eyes were sparking with mirth as they watched hers and her boyfriends' reactions, but they were still serious underneath it. Holy shit, she thought dazedly, they're not fucking with me. Looking back, she thought about them, thought about the qualities that made them who they were.
Tricksters to the last bone in their bodies, people didn't come much more sly then they did. Their plans were well thought out, and as cunning as they came. They were both filled to the brim with ambition, and she knew that they would use any means to achieve their ends. They were stealthy and coy, and would put the blame on almost anyone else in a heartbeat to save themselves or one that they loved. Wondering how in the hell she'd never put that all together before, she looked up at them with just a bit of awe. The twins…Slytherins? But it all made sense in a weird sort of way. Shaking her head, she kissed each of them on the cheek.
"Gods, this is too much." Blaise gasped, still snickering madly. "Something's gone very, very wrong with the bloodlines lately."
"Oui." Draco agreed, trying to stop his own laughter. "First, a Black becomes a Gryffindor and a Pettigrew a Slytherin, and now three Weasleys were meant to be snakes. I think I'm dying."
"Next thing you know, Severus will tell us he was supposed to be a Hufflepuff." Blaise crowed, and they all laughed at that. Until a voice rang out, echoing off the marble around them.
"Care to repeat that, Blaise?" Severus growled, and their laughter died abruptly. Looking up in horror at the Potion Master's livid face, they glanced at each other quickly, deciding unanimously the best course of action.
"Run!" And they did. They took off back into the Manor, as Severus was blocking the front doors, and Draco and Blaise took the lead, showing them through the twisting, maze-like corridors. Curses flew over their heads as Severus tracked them, before Draco threw a hand out behind him and coated the floor in ice. Two more turns and twenty seconds later, they heard Severus shout.
"DRACO MALFOY!" Sniggering, they continued their flight until they'd gone up a few floors and made more turns then they could count. They came out in a room that was missing the far wall, and brooms lined the others. Blaise grabbed two more winter cloaks out of a closet to their right, each done in a shimmery, hazel velvet, and tossed them to the twins.
"We'll fly out past the wards, since you two can't Apparate off the grounds." He said, and when they reached for the Infinities, he stopped them. "No, the others will be faster. Accio Elements."
Moments later, five of the new, ebony brooms came through the open wall, stopping and hovering in front of each of them. Pulling their hoods low over their faces, they mounted the brooms and kicked off, soaring out of the room and into the open, cloudy grey sky. The ride to the edge of the property still took quite a while even by air, but it provided a glorious view. When they did touch down, their cheeks were flushed from the chilly air and the love of flying, and the twins gave her proud looks when they found out that she could Apparate on her own. After that, it was off to Paris. They appeared in an empty alleyway that smelled of old cabbage, and Virginia sneezed.
"Eww." She said, covering her nose with her sleeve.
The others did the same and they left as quickly as possible, coming out onto a busy, crowded sidewalk, surrounded by people speaking rapidly in French. And then they made a day of it. After a lot of prodding, considering that they were the only two completely fluent in the language, they convinced Draco and Blaise to ask for a city map. With long-suffering sighs, they had done so, and their next stop was wizarding Paris, in order to switch out gold for muggle money. Her boyfriends looked at the small piece of plastic that they were handed blankly, and Virginia's grin fell. She'd seen pounds and francs before, due to her eccentric father, but she had no idea what that was.
"What," Draco started slowly, "the fuck is that?" The goblin behind the counter gave a toothy, creepy smile.
"That, my lord, is a credit card. Money." He added when they continued to stare uncomprehendingly. "With the amount you wanted converted, it was the more sensible choice."
"This," Blaise said, waving the tiny colored card in the air, "is actually worth something? You have to be kidding."
"No, my lord, I am not. Muggles are strange. I know not why they use scraps of processed trees and rubber glass to pay for things. I just know that they do."
"As you say." Blaise said, still looking skeptical.
Then they explored the city. They cheated, of course, using alleys and sight shields to Apparate to the places they wanted to see. The map told them the 'best spots', and their first stop was the Louvre. They saw the Oriental antiques, the sculpture galleries, the Greek and Roman sections, the paintings, the prints and drawings, the medieval area. They saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Victory of Samothrace, just among a few. But the Egyptian section entranced them. They loved the ancient feeling about the artifacts, loved the sarcophaguses and the burial scenes, and Draco and Blaise, particularly, liked the fact that they'd worshiped cats.
Their next stop was the Comédie Française, the most renowned theater in France, and they saw Le Malade Imaginaire by Molière. It was preformed beautifully, and not even her boyfriends had anything negative to say when they left. They had a late lunch at one of the many cafés, and since her boyfriends and her brothers refused to go to the Eiffel Tower during the day when everyone was there, they decided to make one more sightseeing stop before they headed for the shops. There was a white domed building that they'd been able to see from almost everywhere in the city, and curiosity drew them towards it.
"What is it?" George wondered aloud, and the rest of them shrugged. As they approached it, climbing an endless column of stairs, they could see two smaller domes to either side of the huge central one. It wasn't until they were almost to the front doors that Virginia and her boyfriends recoiled. The twins made it another few feet before they, too, pulled back and stopped abruptly.
"What in Merlin's name is that?" Fred asked, drawing back farther and nearly running into Draco. Her lover steadied him with a hand on the small of his back, shaking his head.
"I don't know. But I don't like it." Draco said as they stayed still, the crush of other people around them flowing to either side of their small group.
"My arm feels like its burning." Virginia mumbled, rubbing it through her sleeve. Her lovers nodded slightly, and George looked around until he spotted some tourists speaking English.
"Hey!" He called, and the woman and her husband turned around.
All Virginia could think for a moment was that muggles were extremely odd, and that no matter what Hermione said, she would never understand them. The couple was wearing matching outfits, and each had a huge camera around their necks. They were bundled up from head to toe in poofy, plastic-looking coats, which were quite horridly done in yellow, orange and pastel green. Their boots were covered in an ugly, shaggy, fake fur that had matted together in dreadlocks because of the wet snow, and both were grinning like lunatics, walking over to them immediately. Their grins grew when Fred and George pulled back their hoods and they saw that they were twins.
"Hi!" The woman said cheerfully. "I'm Mattie, and this is Edmond."
"I'm Thomas." Fred said in reply. "And this is my brother…Hubert. We've never been here before, see. Do you by any chance know what this place is? We left our map back at a café."
"Oh, of course I do, honey!" The woman said, shooting a curious glance at Virginia and her boyfriends, all three of whom still had their hoods pulled low. "This is the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur." When the twins' expressions remained deadpan, she elaborated. "You know, honey, a church. A very famous one."
The word 'church' cut through them like a knife, since only muggles had churches and their god hated those with magical blood, and they all took a few stumbling steps backwards, hisses escaping their lips. The couple looked startled, their eyes growing wide at their reaction, but Virginia didn't have time to worry about them. Her Mark had started burning fiercely, and she could feel the current of power that had stopped them from entering earlier push at her. Bending over double as it clawed at her, she dug her nails into her fists and tried to breathe. Her Mark suddenly pulsed and the pain receded enough for her to straighten up, her hood falling back.
"Oh my lord." The woman said, staring bug-eyed at Virginia. What the fuck was she looking at?
"Not good." She heard George mumble, right before the woman shrieked.
"OH MY LORD!!" She repeated, her finger pointed at Virginia, and the other people around them slowed, turning to look. A few let out exclamations of surprise, and more then a few screamed. A second later, her boyfriends were in front of her and the twins behind her, shielding her from the crowd's gawking gazes.
Running her hands over her face, Virginia couldn't feel anything wrong. So what the hell were they freaking out over? She had a good idea a moment later, when the crowd tried to converge on them. Draco and Blaise threw their own hoods back, and she saw that the Marks activating had split their pupils and caused their fangs to grow into sharp points. Wonderful, she thought sarcastically. What were they going to do? They couldn't use magic in the middle of a crowd of muggles, let alone on the steps of the Burning God's temple. Church, she corrected herself wryly, not temple. They are nothing like us no matter what anyone says.
"Back away." Her lovers demanded in unison, but it simply made the onlookers more curious then before. It was when the first muggle touched Blaise that Draco came up with an alternate solution besides magic. Twin swords that glinted in the sunlight and that seemed to come from nowhere finally caught the crowd's attention. Screams started again and Blaise grabbed her arm.
"Come on, mon aimé." He said, and Draco spun one blade in a slow, liquid move.
"Ezutîël, make our lady a path." He whispered under his breath, and nine serpent-like shadows slid from everywhere and nowhere.
At the appearance of more hooded figures, the watching spectators began fleeing, and a wall of male strength surrounded her, ushering her away. They made it back onto the streets and ran aimlessly, simply wanting as much distance as possible between them and the scene that had just occurred. They couldn't move as fast with the twins as they could have on their own, but her brothers were still as athletic and in shape as they had been at Hogwarts. The Ezutîël disappeared again as they finally slowed back to a walk, and they saw that they were in a slummy part of town. The rich velvet of their cloaks seemed to stand out against the grime and filth vividly.
"Let's just get back to our part of town, hmm?" Draco suggested, and they nodded. Fred did a quick seeking spell, and they found that they weren't that far from the closest entrance to wizarding Paris. It was when they made it into that back alley that all hell broke loose. George had just finished opening the entrance when a scruffy band of thieves blocked the way behind them, pointing some odd smelling metal…things at their chests.
"Back away from that wall, real slow like." One of them said in a heavy French accent. "And put your hands over your heads." Her boyfriends looked at them as if they'd gone mad.
"You don't want to do this, muggle." Blaise warned, and the man scoffed. There was a shout behind them as some witches and wizards on the other side of the boundary noticed what was happening, but Virginia was too busy trying to remember what her boyfriends had told her about muggle weapons.
"I'm the one with the gun, sonny." The dirt-caked man spat out. A gun, that was it! But what did it do? She couldn't for the life of her remember. She'd never had the interest in muggles that her father did, nor even the mild interest in their weapons that her lovers had. "Now give us your money and valuables. Those rings for a start."
"You want my ring?" Draco asked, lifting his hand and letting the sunlight flicker on the emeralds and platinum of his signet ring. The men's eyes turned greedy, and the one she supposed was the leader nodded. "Well, then, by all means. Try it on. I'm sure it'll look splendid on you." The twins looked shocked, as if that was the last thing that they'd expected Draco to say. He took his ring off and walked up to the man slowly. Four Aurors came through the entrance behind them, and when Draco spotted them, he raised his voice. "I'm warning you now, though. If you steal my ring, you won't like what happens."
"There ain't shit you or your buddies are going to do." The man said, his gun aimed at Draco's head. He snatched the ring out of her boyfriend's hand, slid it on, and promptly slumped to the ground. His accomplices froze, while Draco calmly leaned down and retrieved his ring from the limp, lifeless finger.
"I told you." He said, and was back with them before the muggles or the Aurors saw him move.
Virginia started to move for him, her hood falling back again, and one of the thieves snapped. He twisted to face her, and she saw and heard him pull the trigger almost in slow motion. Remembrance hit her as she watched the bullet fly out of the gun, her boyfriends' voices floating through her mind, telling her about the way those weapons worked. Everything still seeming to move horrifying slow, she saw her boyfriends' eyes flash as they moved for her, but she knew the four feet they were from her was too much. Her eyes closing as she waited for the impact, they sprung open again when she felt someone push her back and slam into her.
She met Fred's cornflower blue eyes, watched pain engulf them as she heard the bullet rip through flesh, and caught his weight easily as he collapsed against her. Everything sped back up in an instant, the gunshot still echoing through the alley along with his strangled cry. She distantly heard George scream, distantly heard more shots fired, distantly heard spells being cast. Throwing a fiery shield over her and her brother, she let them sink to the ground. Cradling him in her lap, she ripped the cloak and shirt off of him, and then carefully turned him over so she could see his back. There was a huge, meaty wound on the mid-left side, and blood was seeping out of it steadily.
A sob rising in her throat, she ripped his shirt into two long strips, folded them together quickly, and pressed them to the wound. Hands grabbed her from behind and she screamed, turning with a fistful of flames ready to throw when she saw Blaise. One look in her eyes and he stopped midway from taking Fred from her, instead just helping her to her feet and keeping her steady. She stood, very glad at that moment for her strength. Her mind seemed stuck, utterly devoid of conscious thought except for six words. Get him safe. Get him healed. Blaise's lips were moving, but she couldn't hear him, and she concentrated, trying to understand, trying to focus.
"-afe! Cher un, it's safe, drop the shield! You have to drop it, we have to get inside. More muggles will come any moment. Can you hear me?" He shook her shoulders and she started walking, then running for the entrance.
She slid through, dropping the shield as she came out on the other side. People swarmed around her, Draco and Blaise holding them off. When the French witches and wizards saw who they were, they got the opposite of the reaction they would have in Britain. Nearly every one of them kneeled, before rising and asking how they could help. Looks of adoration, respect or simple neutrality shone on their faces, and she realized that many of them had probably known, to some degree, or at least seen frequently, the two of them since their…childhood. They'd grown up in France, after all. But her attention was for Fred and Fred only at the moment.
"Séjour dos et floo Malfoy Manoir. Laisser nos mères connaître quoi advenu et acquérir quelques eau, affinier emmailloters et un maison lutin." She could hear Draco ordering someone quietly while she dropped to the ground again and cursed not knowing how to heal bullet wounds as she tried to stop the flow of blood. ((Stay back and floo Malfoy Manor. Let our mothers know what happened and get some water, clean bandages and a house elf.))
The shirt was already soaked through, and she was a second from ripping her cloak off when a bundle of silver velvet landed next to her leg. Taking Blaise's cloak and sending a silent 'thank you' through the Marks, she ripped the expensive cloth lengthwise right before he kneeled beside her. He started to push the sleeves of his robe up, and then seemed to lose patience as he saw her brother becoming paler and paler. Forgetting the sleeves, he laid his hands on Fred's back just as George fell beside them, looking pale and sick as he stared at his twin. He took one of Fred's clammy hands in his, his whole body shaking from shock and horror.
Draco was still giving orders and keeping everyone away from them, and when the snow underneath Virginia and Fred became as soft as any mattress could hope to be, she knew he was paying more attention to them then to the people he was talking to. Blaise's hands began glowing darkly, and Fred's eyes flew open, filling with darkfire. George's mirrored his, as their twinbond was exceptionally strong, and Virginia let her palm rest on the back of Blaise's neck, feeding him raw power for him to direct to healing. The muscles in Fred's back began to spasm and George cried out, clutching his hand tighter, his knuckles turning white.
"Oh gods!" She heard her mother exclaim from behind her, before she felt her drop to the snow beside them. "Oh, Fred, no. No, baby, no." Her mother was chanting in quiet sobs, and Virginia would have wrapped an arm around her had it not already been around Fred. That's when Blaise's voice slid through her head.
'Dray, it hit his spleen and a kidney. And…the bullet was spelled. This was no coincidence. I can heal him but it'll drain me; there's no time to go to Reverie. Something doesn't feel right here. We need out as soon as I'm done, oui?'
'Oui. Virginia?
'Yes?'
'Let Blaise take Fred's weight. We must shield and guard them.'
'Alright.' She agreed, and let Blaise shift Fred gently into his lap. She rose on shaky feet and let Draco take her hand. Steeling herself, she looked around and saw the rest of her family there except for Ron, as well as Narcissa, Severus and Silana. She and Draco moved off to the side, and she could barely take her eyes off of Fred. He'd nearly gotten himself killed. For her. He had, apparently, known what a gun was, and yet he'd still put himself in front of her, still shielded her. And she'd seen the look in his eyes before the pain had hit. She'd seen that he'd expected to die. But he'd done it anyway.
"He will be alright, won't he?" Virginia asked, her voice low. Draco answered her, never stopping his scan of the shops and homes around them.
"Yes. It'll be bad for a day at most as long as we can get him back to the Manor without reopening it."
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, right?" Silence. "Right?"
"It feels strange here." Draco finally responded. "I know you can sense it, too. I have a bad feeling about all of this." It was her turn to stay quiet that time. She could feel it. It prickled the tiny hairs on the back of her neck and had her eyes and ears straining. It was like the crushing feeling before a storm, like-
"Fuck!" She and Draco exclaimed at once, half a second before a building down the street exploded.
Screams rent the air, and Draco threw a shield over her family, Blaise, Severus and their mothers. Debris rained down as people began running, and she could see her brothers, but for the twins, and her father trying to get out of the shield. Looking down the street, she saw Death Eaters pour out of the smoke clogging the air, and felt a furious fire begin to burn within her. Blaise's words rang through her mind once more, and the fury intensified. 'Dray, it hit his spleen and a kidney. And…the bullet was spelled.' Rage engulfing her from head to toe, she stalked forward. They were going to pay this day. She was tired of being nice, tired of seeing those she loved hurt.
"Virginia…" Draco called from beside her, and she stopped long enough to face him.
"Do you trust me?"
"What?" He asked, as if that was the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard. A curse flew past his head, which he easily dodged, and she smiled grimly.
"Do you trust me?" She repeated, and he nodded wordlessly. "Then use your strength to shield everyone but the Death Eaters."
"Vir-"
"Just do it!" She half-snapped, half-pleaded, begging him with her eyes to trust her.
"Fine." And then there was no more time for words. She shoved him back when he hesitated, and he leaned in and stole a quick kiss before he turned back around, icy shields springing up around those still in the streets. He continued feeding power into them, especially the one that Blaise and Fred were in, and her attention went to the slowly advancing Death Eaters.
Just looking at them doubled her anger, for she knew who had sent them. Him. Voldemort. Fucking with their lives again. Remembered flashes lit behind her eyes as she thought of him. Flashes of her dreams, of Draco and Blaise's memories of bleeding at that bastard's hands. Flashes of her first year, of deception and treachery. Flashes of Percy's twisted eyes, of the Dark Mark burned into his freckled skin. Flashes of the Deep Lord, flashes of Marcus. All his doing. It was all him, had always been him, and she was fucking tired of it. She hated him down to the last cell in her body, hated him with everything in her.
Letting her rage grow until it had engulfed her mind in a red haze, until it burned white-hot inside of her core, she kept feeding it. Every step the masked figures took had the flames within her soul growing, spreading, eating any rational thought as all she could think of was spilling their blood, of thwarting their master. Leaking out from her center, it washed through every vein and nerve ending, swamped every cell and pore until it forced her to her knees. She heard the Death Eaters' mocking laughter as she fell, and laughed cruelly at their ignorance. The snow all around her on the ground was melting and steaming, and she waited.
"Looks like the muggles failed." She heard one Death Eater comment. "Bonus for us. We'll be rewarded greatly for taking this prize back to our Lord."
"Well, by all means," she said, looking up at them through her scarlet hair with scorching eyes, "I do dare you to try."
Her fury had far past reached the boiling point, and her blood would set it free. So when they drew up on her and one went to kick her in the face, she let him. She felt her head snap around but nothing more, and her blood splattered on the snow. A feral, enraged scream was torn from her as the power left her in a huge, spherical blast, incinerating everything in its path. She felt it hit her lover's shields, recognize them, and slide around and over them before continuing on another twenty or thirty yards. Slumping to the ground fully with the release, she fought for breath, utterly exhausted. So when she heard her lover's warning, she could do nothing but look up.
"The end of the street! One survived!" Draco screamed, and she saw a lone Death Eater running right at her.
Draco rushed past her in a blur, right as four more joined the first. They were obviously stragglers, far enough behind their peers to have been spared in her unleashing. They circled Draco and she watched blearily as he picked them off one by one. After the second fell, she saw yet another shadow slip out of a closer alleyway, heading straight for her. She tried to raise her voice, tried to scream for help, but nothing came out. When he was less then twenty feet from her and closing fast, Draco snapped the last Death Eater in half over one knee. He spun, saw the one coming at her, and started running again. Too far, she thought hazily, too far.
A ball of ice flew through the air, and only missed because the Death Eater hit the ground. Crawling quickly, he was no more then ten feet away when Virginia saw someone slide straight through one of Draco's shields, which should have been impossible unless it was Blaise or herself. But it couldn't be Blaise, since he would be as worn out as she was by then. The Death Eater reached her at the same time she glimpsed the Ezutîël rushing for her, but she knew that they would be too late as well. The bastard grabbed her, started to speak an Apparation spell, and the snow around them exploded, wrapping around him like a living cloak.
His intent changing, the Death Eater whispered a guttural spell, his wand turning into a deadly edged, foot-long, glistening blade. Knowing her time was up, knowing help was still two seconds too many away, she tried to lift her arm to ward off the blow. The snow was eating his skin off, she knew it was, but the sick, pleased glint in the eyes behind the mask didn't change. His arm lifted, paused long enough for her to smell the Whomping Willow sap on the blade, and came down. Forcing her eyes to stay open, to see what befell her and not look away, she nearly went ahead and died of shock when it never came.
Vines sprung out of the ground, joining the snow in its strangling vise-like grip and pinning him to the ground, the poisoned blade falling to the side. Draco was on him half a second later, the vines freezing and shattering as he ripped them away furiously, and he was pulling the son of a bitch up by his hair a moment later. The Death Eater did scream then, as he saw who held him, and Virginia looked around, fighting to stay awake, trying to see who had helped her. Her eyes fell on a figure less than two feet from her, who was staring at their still-outstretched hand in disbelief, as if they couldn't believe what they'd just done.
But Virginia had a bigger problem. Her mind spinning madly as she took the person in piece by piece, she felt her Mark flare as their eyes met hers. Feeling as if the ground had become less than solid underneath her, they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and she saw recognition flare in the other's eyes. Looking them over again, Virginia felt her body beginning to shake. Skin like cream that had been mixed in mocha. A lithe, willowy frame that spoke of grace even while stunned and sitting. Eyes so dark a brown they were almost black, with impossibly green speckles littering them like tiny jewels. Waist-length hair like liquid silk rosewood.
The person that had been haunting hers and her lovers' dreams. The person whose scent of orchids and earth lingered even after they woke.
"Virginia, I—I had to help, I don't know why, or how I…"
"It's alright." Virginia managed to choke out with the very last dregs of her strength, right before darkness claimed her. "It's alright, Padma."
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Evil place to leave off, eh? Yeah, well, review or…or…I'll never post again! And you'll be left here forever! Mwahahahahahahaha! (But, really, tell me what you thought, please!)